Wait For Me
by McDiggin'It
Summary: After everything, Nancy goes back to Steve. Jonathan accepts it, but does Nancy?


Title: Wait For Me

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Summary: After everything, Nancy goes back to Steve. Jonathan accepts it, but does Nancy?

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She's not sure why she said yes when Steve asked her to be his girlfriend again. She knows he's changed now. She knows that he's a better person than he was before all of this. She even knows that he might love her... perhaps that's why she said yes. Perhaps she agreed because she knows that he can be a good boyfriend.

That's what she would've thought if she were the same Nancy she was before everything that has happened. But she's no longer that scared little girl she once was. She's braver now. But still naive, apparently.

Steve is all wrong for her. They want different things, hate different things, and enjoy different things. He enjoys attention and being in crowds. She does not. She prefers the company of one. And it's not like she's totally opposed to the idea of being with him... it's just that she prefers another.

The reason she said yes to Steve, was because he's safe. With him, there's not much pain, not much emotion, and not much feeling. She said yes because she really wanted to say no. She said yes to the wrong boy because she knew that the right boy would never ask.

Jonathan Byers... sweet, gentle, kind, quiet, shy Jonathan. She couldn't figure him out. He seems afraid most of the time, but she knows firsthand that he's much braver than any boy she has ever met. He barely smiles, but when he does, it's the most satisfying thing she has ever seen. He doesn't talk much, but when he does, she finds herself immersed in his voice and his words.

The things he says, the tone with which he says it, the way he looks at her when he's saying it... it all forces her to feel so much. Too much. And it scares her to death to know that someone has that kind of power over her. That someone could say something as simple as her name, and make her feel like he'd just said the most intimate things ever imagined. If he could make her feel so good inside just by saying her name, then he could do the opposite with just as much. A single word.

So she said yes to Steve. Because he's safe.

She tries her best to be happy, but every time she catches a glimpse of Jonathan in the hallways at school, or Biology, or in the parking lot, she can't help but yearn for him. It literally hurts to see him so close and not be able to be with him. So close, yet so far.

On the night after Christmas, she waits for him outside when she sees his car pull up in her driveway. She knows Will is going to take his time saying goodbye to his friends downstairs. She smiles and waves at him as he gets out of his car. He waves back, smiles back, but doesn't move from his spot by his car.

So she goes to him, the snow crunching under her boots as she stomps towards him. She stops in front of him and regards him with a questioning look. "I didn't see you at school today." She tells him.

He looks away quickly and shrugs, "Didn't feel so well."

She doesn't believe him. He has a tell. He purses his lips and looks down when he's lying, and he's doing exactly that. "You're avoiding me."

He looks at her with wide eyes before looking down again and pursing his lips before shaking his head. "No I'm not."

She steps forward and looks up into his eyes. He looks away, so she raises a hand and takes his chin, turning his head so he has no choice but to look at her. "It's okay." She tells him softly.

He scoffs and takes a step back. "No, it's not."

She only takes another step forward. She smiles at him again. "Yes it is. It's okay because I kind of avoided you too."

At this, Jonathan looks at her in surprise. "What- why?"

She shrugs, "Because you scare me."

He's confused, and it shows on his face. "Why?"

She takes a deep breath and steps towards him again so she's now standing directly in front of him. "Because you can hurt me." She tells him honestly.

Jonathan looks even more baffled, he raises his hands and puts them on her shoulders as he shakes his head. "Nancy, I- I could never... will never hurt you."

Tears of sadness collect in her eyes because she knows that that's not true. Even if he doesn't mean to, it's bound to happen. And after all they've been through together, she's still not fully healed. She's fragile. And she's afraid that he could break her easily. She reaches up and touches his face. She smiles, and he does too. "I know." She tells him. "I know you would never hurt me... but right now, I need to heal. You do too."

He nods. He knows what she's talking about. "I know."

She raises herself up and kisses him softly on the lips. A short, but sweet kiss. She smiles at him, conveying her feelings.

He understands. Years of reading people's emotions through a single image has taught him how to recognize what they're really feeling and saying. He nods. "Steve is good for you." He whispers softly.

She smiles sadly. She knows he's saying that to make this easier for her, but it doesn't. No matter what, walking away from him will always be hard. She shakes her head. "Maybe... but he's not right for me."

He stares. "He isn't?"

"No." She shakes her head again. "I already found the right one... you. But if I'm to be with you, I have to be okay with myself first, and learn to heal before I give us a chance."

Jonathan smiles genuinely for the first time tonight. The first time in a long time. "Okay."

She stares longingly at him, yearning to touch him again, but she forces herself not to. She smiles once more before taking a step away "Will you wait for me?"

In the softest, most genuine and heart wrenching tone, the tone she has come to know as Jonathan's serious story tone, he utters a single word that will reverberate in her head until the day she's ready to be with him. "Always."

She'll be with him. Of that she is completely sure. It will take time, healing, and patience. But when that time comes, she's going to give him... _them_ , everything she has. For now, all there is to do... is wait.

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A/N: So I'm not sure what this is. But I hope you Jancy shippers like it. I don't know why, but I always ship the non-canon pairings... although, I suppose Jonathan and Nancy aren't completely non-canon. Sorry for the lowkey Steve bashing. I like him enough, just not with Nancy. Anyways, let me know what you guys think!

-McDiggin'It


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